Abbey Is Blue
1959 studio album by Abbey Lincoln
Abbey Is Blue is the fourth album by American jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln featuring tracks recorded in 1959 for the Riverside label.[ 1]
Reception
AllMusic awarded the album 4½ stars, with the review by Scott Yanow stating: "Abbey Lincoln is quite emotional and distinctive during a particularly strong set... very memorable".[ 3] All About Jazz also gave the album 4½ stars, with David Rickert calling it "a breakthrough performance in jazz singing", and observing: "With the civil rights movement looming over the horizon, no longer did singers need to stick with standards and Tin Pan Alley tunes and could truly sing about subjects that mattered to them. Lincoln picked up Billie Holiday 's skill at inhabiting the lyrics of a song and projecting its emotional content outward, and these songs, all of which deal with sorrow, are stark and harrowing accounts of loss and injustice."[ 2] Chris Ingalls of PopMatters commented: "The choice of compositions is consistently interesting... and stands apart from so much of the music released during this time... Lincoln was intent on infusing the album with elements of civil rights issues so important to her then and throughout the rest of her life, and it doesn't hurt that her vocals on these standards absolutely soar with emotion and deft technique."[ 7]
Track listing
"Afro Blue " (Mongo Santamaría , Oscar Brown ) - 3:20
"Lonely House " (Langston Hughes , Kurt Weill ) - 3:40
"Let Up" (Abbey Lincoln) - 5:32
"Thursday's Child" (Elisse Boyd, Murray Grand ) - 3:31
"Brother, Where Are You?" (Oscar Brown) - 3:10
"Laugh, Clown, Laugh " (Ted Fio Rito , Sam M. Lewis , Joe Young ) - 5:24
"Come Sunday " (Duke Ellington ) - 5:13
"Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise " (Oscar Hammerstein II , Sigmund Romberg ) - 2:46
"Lost in the Stars " (Maxwell Anderson , Kurt Weill) - 4:11
"Long as You're Living" (Oscar Brown, Julian Priester , Tommy Turrentine ) - 2:33
Personnel
Abbey Lincoln - vocals
Kenny Dorham (tracks 2, 4, 7-9), Tommy Turrentine (tracks 1, 3, 6, 10) - trumpet
Julian Priester - trombone (tracks 1, 3, 6, 10)
Stanley Turrentine - tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 3, 6, 10)
Les Spann - guitar (tracks 2, 4, 7-9), flute (track 5)
Wynton Kelly (tracks 2, 4, 5), Cedar Walton (tracks 3, 6), Phil Wright (tracks 7-9) - piano
Bobby Boswell (tracks 1, 3, 6, 10), Sam Jones (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7-9) - bass
Philly Joe Jones (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 7-9), Max Roach (tracks: 1, 3, 6, 10) - drums
References
^ Riverside Records discography accessed September 13, 2012
^ a b Rickert, David, "Abbey Lincoln: Abbey Is Blue" , All About Jazz , October 16, 2005.
^ a b Yanow, Scott, AllMusic Review , accessed September 13, 2012.
^ DeMichael, Don (26 May 1960). "Abbey Lincoln: Abbey is Blue ". DownBeat . Vol. 27, no. 11. p. 38.
^ Stone, Louise Davis (13 February 1960). "The Jazz Bit" . New York Age . p. 12. Retrieved 8 March 2015 .
^ Cook, Richard ; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin . p. 894. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0 .
^ a b Ingalls, Chris (June 15, 2021). "Abbey Lincoln's Classic 'Abbey Is Blue' Gets a Richly Deserved Vinyl Reissue" . PopMatters . Retrieved March 4, 2024 .
^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide . USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 126. ISBN 0-394-72643-X .
^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz . Virgin Books. p. 538.
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
Albums
Years given are for the recording(s), including the soundtrack albums, not first release.
As leader or co-leader AndShirley Scott WithMax Roach With others
Freedom (Kenny Burrell , 1963–64)
Midnight Blue (Kenny Burrell, 1963)
I'm Tryin' to Get Home (Donald Byrd , 1964)
Up with Donald Byrd (1964)
With the Tenors of Our Time (Roy Hargrove , 1994)
Life Flight (Freddie Hubbard, 1987)
Flight to Jordan (Duke Jordan , 1960)
Only Trust Your Heart (Diana Krall , 1994)
Abbey Is Blue (Abbey Lincoln , 1959)
Les McCann Ltd. in New York (Les McCann , 1961)
Electric Funk (Jimmy McGriff , 1969)
Speakin' My Piece (Horace Parlan , 1960)
On the Spur of the Moment (Horace Parlan, 1961)
The Right Touch (Duke Pearson , 1967)
Easy Living /Congo Lament (Ike Quebec , 1962)
Comin' On! (Dizzy Reece , 1960)
Serenade to a Soul Sister (Horace Silver , 1968)
Back at the Chicken Shack (Jimmy Smith , 1960)
Midnight Special (Jimmy Smith, 1960)
Prayer Meetin' (Jimmy Smith, 1961)
A.T.'s Delight (Art Taylor , 1960)
Year(s) indicated are for the recording(s), not first release.
As leader or co-leader As sideman withArt Blakey & The Jazz Messengers WithArt Farmer (or where stated),Benny Golson &The Jazztet WithEddie Harris WithBilly Higgins WithMilt Jackson WithEtta James WithClifford Jordan WithBlue Mitchell WithHouston Person With others
God Bless Jug and Sonny (Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt , 1973)
Left Bank Encores (Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt, 1973)
Something for Lester (Ray Brown , 1977)
Slow Drag (Donald Byrd , 1967)
The Almoravid (Joe Chambers , 1971–73)
Somethin's Cookin' (Junior Cook , 1981)
Broken Shadows (Ornette Coleman , 1971–72)
Katumbo (Dance) (Johnny Coles, 1971)
Giant Steps (John Coltrane , 1959)
Up, Up and Away (Sonny Criss , 1967)
The Beat Goes On! (Sonny Criss, 1968)
This Is the Moment! (Kenny Dorham , 1958)
Blue Spring (Kenny Dorham & Cannonball Adderley , 1959)
It's All Right! (Teddy Edwards , 1967)
Soul Trombone (Curtis Fuller , 1961)
Smokin' (Curtis Fuller, 1972)
Tangerine (Dexter Gordon , 1972)
Generation (Dexter Gordon, 1972)
Bush Dance (Johnny Griffin , 1978)
Roots (Slide Hampton , 1985)
The Quota (Jimmy Heath , 1961)
Triple Threat (Jimmy Heath, 1962)
Mode for Joe (Joe Henderson , 1966)
Hub Cap (Freddie Hubbard , 1961)
Here to Stay (Freddie Hubbard, 1962)
The Body & the Soul (Freddie Hubbard,1963)
Bolivia (Freddie Hubbard, 1991)
Highway One (Bobby Hutcherson , 1978)
Farewell Keystone (Bobby Hutcherson, 1982)
Really Livin' (J.J. Johnson , 1959)
J.J. Inc. (J.J. Johnson, 1960)
Save Your Love for Me (Etta Jones , 1986)
Advance! (Philly Joe Jones , 1978)
Drum Song (Philly Joe Jones, 1978)
Seven Minds (Sam Jones , 1974)
Something in Common (Sam Jones, 1974–77)
First Class Kloss! (Eric Kloss , 1967)
Abbey Is Blue (Abbey Lincoln , 1959)
Strings! (Pat Martino , 1967)
From This Moment On! (Charles McPherson , 1968)
Horizons (Charles McPherson, 1968)
Caramba! (Lee Morgan , 1968)
The Sixth Sense (Lee Morgan, 1968)
The Mode (Sonny Red , 1961)
Sonny Red (1971)
Setting Standards (Woody Shaw , 1983)
For Losers (Archie Shepp , 1968–69)
Kwanza (Archie Shepp, 1968–69)
Now Is the Time (Idrees Sulieman , 1976)
Goodbye Yesterday (Lucky Thompson , 1972)
Concert: Friday the 13th – Cook County Jail (Lucky Thompson, 1972)
I Offer You (Lucky Thompson, 1973)
Another Story (Stanley Turrentine , 1969)
Up Front (David Williams , 1986)